Adam bulman



ATTORNEYS. r

A. BULMAN. y

DEVIGE FOR GENTERING VBSSELS IN DRY BOOKS.

Patented Jan. 19,' 1333.

(No Modell.)

@Nima STATES Ainsi* firmen.,

ADAM BULMAN, OFJERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOEL W.BROWN, .OF SAME PLAGE.

DEVICE FOR CENTERING VESSELS IN DRY-BOOKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,563, dated January19,1886.

(No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern..-

Beit known that I, ADAM BULMAN, of Jersey Oity, in the county of Hudsonand State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Im proved Device forCentering Vessels in Dry- Docks, of which t-he following is a full,clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a practical device by which avessel floating in a dry-dock may be quickly and easily moved to thecenter of the dock, so that when the water is pumped out of the dock thevessel will settle properly'upon the keel-blocks.

The invention consists, principally, of anattachment constructed withtwo sliding` blocks adapted to engage with the opposite sides of thekeel of a vessel and to be moved to the center of the dock by drawingupon a rope or ropes attached to the sliding blocks.

The invention also consists of the construction, arrangement, andcombination of parts, all as hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in both the gures.

Figure 1 shows my invention applied to a dry-dock and vessel tloating inthe dock, and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom of a dry-dock and thecentering device.

A represents the main cross piece or bar of the centering device placedacross the drydock B, between two of the keel-blocks C of the dock. Thebar A is made of wood, so it will oat in wat-er, and it is held in placein the dock by the studs or short posts D D, secured to the bottom ofthe dock. The ends of the bar A are slotted, as shown at a a, to embracethe posts D D, and pins el d are secured in the posts D, to limit theupward movement of the bar A when water is admitted to the dock. Forlowering the bar A toa point below the upper surfaces ofthe keelblock C,which is necessary at the time a vessel is iioated into the dock, Iattach the ropes E E to the ends of the bar A and pass them under thepulleys d d', Vfitted in the lower ends of the posts D. From the pulleysthe ropes E pass to the top of the dock, so that by pulling upon theropes and securing them the bar A may be lowered toand held at thebottom of the dock, so it will not interfere with the entrance ofthevessel to the dock.

Upon the bar A are placed the sliding blocks F F. These are secured tothe bar by the U-irons ff, or by other means that will permit the blocksto slide freely upon the bar A. The upper edges of the blocks FF standVabove the upper edge of the bar A, so that they may engage with the keelof a vessel, as shown in Fig. l, while the bar A rests in contact withthe lower surface ofthe keel.

The sliding of the blocks F F on the bar A may be done by means ofsuitable ropes from the sides of the dry-dock. In this instance, fordrawing the blocks outward toward the ends of the bar A, I use the ropesG G, attached to the outer ends of the blocks and passed throughpulley-blocks H H at the sides of the dock and thence up to the top ofthe dock.

For drawing the blocks F F toward the center of thebar A, I prefer touse a single rope, I, attached to the inner end of the block F, passedthence over pulley j in block F', thence over the pulley j in block F,thence through pulley J to the top or" the dock, so that by drawing uponthis single rope both blocks may be moved simultaneously toward eachother. The pulley J may be omitted, if desired, and the rope I carrieddirectly from the pulley j to the top of the dock. A central stop orprojection, a, is formed upon or secured to the bar A, so that theblocks F F cannot be moved upon the bar past the center of the dock orpast the center of the bar A.

In operation the har A will be lowered to the bottom of the dock andmade fast by the ropes E. The blocks F F will then be drawn toward thestuds D by the ropes G, and the vessel floated into the dock. This done,the ropes E E will be released, which will permit the buoyant action ofthe water to lift the bar A up into contact with the keel of the vessel,so the keel will stand between the blocks F F whether the Vessel be atthe center of the dock or not. Now, the rope I will be drawn in uponeither by hand or by a windlass, which will cause the blocks F F tosimultaneously approach each other and cause one or the other of them tomove the vessel to the center of the dock. If the vessel be at the leftof the IOO LIO

center of the dock, (see Fig. 1,) block F will reach the keel and remainat rest in contact with the keel until block F reaches the central Stop,a", and is prevented from further move- 5 ment. The block F will nowmove forward, carrying the vessel with it, until the keel strikes theblock F, when the vessel will be exactly in the center of the dock. Ifthe veS- sel enter the dock to the right of the center, the action ofthe blocks will be reversedthat is, block Fwill act to move the vessel,While block F will abut against the central stop, ct.'

In most cases I shall use two of the center- :5 ing devices in eac-l1dryedock, one located near each end ofthe dock, so that by operatingthem the vessel may be centered in the dock fore and aft, and held untilthe Water is pumped ont, so that the vessel will settle properly uponthe keel-blocks C.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as neuT and desire tosecure by Letters Patentl. The centering device for dry-docks, here inshown and described, consisting of a bar adapted to be moved verticallyat the bottom of the doek, combined Wit-l1 sliding blocks, and attachedropes for sliding the blocks toward the center of the dock,substantially as 3o and for the purposes set forth.

2. The bar A, adapted to be held loosely at the bottom of the dock, andprovided with the central stop, a', in combination with the slidingblocks F F', placed loosely upon the bar A, and provided with ropes forsliding them upon the bar, substantially as described.

3. The blocks F F', provided with pulleysj j, respectively, incombination with bar A and rope I, attached to block F, and passed overboth pulleys, and thence to the top of the 4o dock, substantially asdescribed.

et. The studs D D, secured to the bottom of the dock, in combinationwith the bar A and sliding blocks F F,thebar Abeing held loosely by thestuds, substantially as described.

5. The studs D D, secured at the bottom of the dock, and provided withthe pulleys d. d', in combination with the bar A, sliding blocks F F',and the ropes E, for lowering the bar A, substantially as described.

6. The bar A, provided with the central stop, a', and held loosely inthe dry-dock by studs D, in combination with the sliding blocks F F,ropes G and E, and the rope I for moving the blocks, substantially asand for the 55 purposes set forth.

ADAM. BULMAN. Vitnesscs:

JOEL W. BROWN, R. L. BOWNE.

